Right now I am in the process of getting another dog, for two reasons: 1) I have had my last dog with me for a year and a half and we've grown to know each other, so there is emotional room for another; and 2) Harvey would like a dog playmate.
And I really don't care what you folks who don't understand the dog-man connection think, dogs constitute my little family. And they're all I need.
“Right now I am in the process of getting another dog, for two reasons: 1) I have had my last dog with me for a year and a half and we’ve grown to know each other, so there is emotional room for another; and 2) Harvey would like a dog playmate.”
I totally agree with the idea of getting a second dog.
My older dog, while she loves and is friendly towards all people, simply craves being around other dogs. I would take her to the dog park, just so that she could play with other dogs and “be a dog.” They just don’t get to “be a dog” when they are around people only.
Just after she turned a year old, I found out about a male that was about the same size, only 3 weeks younger, already neutered, and needed a new home. (He had been spending upwards of 60 hours a week, alone, in a laundry room). I went and got him, and it was the best thing that ever happened to both of them. IMO, because of his isolation there were so many things that he had never been exposed to (like the feeling of grass under his paws, no kidding), so we actually had to teach him to “be a dog,” and my female was his best teacher. Dogs really need to be around other dogs.